Mysteries of the Mansion
by Priestess of Dawn XD
Summary: Some things are better left hidden. A fighting tournament appears to be more than just that, when strange things are discovered and the participants are acting different than usual. Warning: Mentions of character deaths and dark themes.
1. Chapter 1

**So this may be my first multi-chapter fic! Hoorah! As if that means anything...**

 **Alright, down to business. First off, this is set between Brawl and SSB4. The pairings will not be mentioned at the moment, so they remain a surprise for now. There's really only one major one anyway, so I suppose I'm open for suggestions.**

 **Oh, and many of the female smashers and assist trophies are main characters. So, if that's your thing, read on. If not, you can still read it anyway. There will be a few extra characters from other series, they are not OCs.**

 **One more thing: This will be a dark fic with mentions of character deaths. Consider yourself warned.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own this game or the characters.**

Chapter One: Trophy Room

He thought she looked a bit like a porcelain doll sealed in that glass case, with her pale skin and blank expression. Trapped, motionless, fragile. For a moment, he simply stared silently into those hollow eyes, hoping for a sign of life, an answer, but found only his own solemn expression staring back at him.

Fingers reached out to touch the smooth glass surface, as if a sign to tell her someone was out there and someone cared. But nothing he did now could help her. She had been placed in the hands of fate, and all he could do was wait.

Of all the people, why did it have to be her? Someone so full of life and meaning. Someone who could make a difference. He knew his life had been thrown away long ago, cast into the depths of shadows that fell beyond the peaks in the horizon of the path he chose. So, it made sense for him to be here. But her...

In a way, it was sad. What did she feel? Was she even conscious? To him, she appeared as a work of art, a caught fish, resting on the border between life and death.

A small smudge on the case caught his eye. Barely noticeable, but there nonetheless. It appeared almost as if she'd been tossed back in here and left abandoned, along with all the other unused equipment.

A cold draft crept through the walls, chilling straight to the bone. It was eerie, this place. Dark and cold and forgotten, like evidence to a crime that one shouldn't have witnessed.

A few rupees lay in a small pile near the corner, a myriad of colors and sizes. Their shine had been dulled by the blanket of dust that had settled throughout the years. He had just discovered this room merely a week ago, and found himself contemplating how long she may have been here, on the fringes of some kind of mind-purgatory. It couldn't have been more than a year ago they'd last spoken. Unless, somehow, time warped throughout the different worlds and it had been much longer than that.

Only, she looked very much like the last time he saw her. He was glad to see her newly established position of power hadn't changed her into a different person. He'd already known someone else like that.

A sudden noise behind him caused his muscles to tense as he quickly spun to locate the source. Another swordsman, much like himself but still worlds away (literally) stood in the half exposed doorway, an unreadable expression across his elvish features.

Upon recognition, the first man relaxed. The two stood there for a short while in silence, attempting to find the right words to explain the situation. He'd been caught, but the look on the others face indicated that he couldn't care less why someone was in here, seemingly occupied by his own thoughts.

There was a gesture to allow entry, and the blond Hylian slipped through the crack into the room, careful to avoid contact with the old creaky door. Almost as if he'd been in here before...

With a slight tilt of the head towards the display case, Link asked, "Someone you know?"

The mercenary turned back to examine the object of his attention, already giving his answer.

"What is this place?" He asked quietly as the Hylian sidled on over to something lying at the foot of a shelf. His eyes followed the movements of his friend, as he reached down to grab something.

Link was a man of a few words, but that just made what he did say so much more important. His mind was always running, always calculating, and despite his appearance or personality, he was actually a very intelligent and caring being. He would fight to the death for what he believed in, and he'd always put those closest to him first.

At this moment, he examined what appeared to be a broken mask. Busted right in half, as if a weapon had cleaved through it.

"It's storage," the Hylian replied in an even tone, his emotions undecipherable.

"But why store broken things?" Ike asked, his anger beginning to form inside of him. That wasn't the real question he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask why there were potential assist trophies down here. Well, one Trophy in specific.

"Because the new tournament hasn't started yet."

"And?" Ike came to stand beside his friend now, who had set the mask back down carefully, as if it wasn't just a piece of broken junk left abandoned and forgotten.

The reply came out with slight hesitation. "There's nowhere else to put it..." The Hylian had moved on to a small box of stickers.

These were things that hadn't been used in the last tournament. Either they were planned for the upcoming tournament, or they had been used in a previous tournament and retired. The second option seemed much more likely.

"Why is she here?"

This time, there was no response.

"Link."

Silence. He didn't know the answer. Or if he did, he didn't plan on sharing. The real question should've been, 'Why are any of us here?' But he knew the answer was the same. None of them knew, and if they did, they wouldn't say a word, because then their life could be in danger.

Ike watched as the Hylian stopped in front of a cardboard box and reached inside. His movements were slow and careful, yet smooth nonetheless.

For a brief moment, a wispy spider web stole the mercenary's attention. He quickly swatted it aside and took a few steps closer to get a better view.

The object in Link's hands was a glass bottle, similar to the case but much smaller. Inside, Ike saw what appeared to be a small ball of light.

With wings.

It didn't move, but Link stared at it as if it were a long lost friend. After a moment, he glanced over his shoulder at the mercenary, and beckoned him to follow.

Apparently, there was a secret door. Link yanked it open with a loud creak and a blast of mildew smell. Ike wrinkled his nose in reflex, before following the Hylian. The little ball in the bottle served as a light for the dark hallway, even though the glass around the bottle appeared slightly foggy.

The hallway gradually became more and more cramped. Ike had to wonder if perhaps this transformed into a crawlspace. He hoped for both his sake and Link's that it didn't. Either way, the Hylian didn't seem at all bothered by the narrow, dark, corridor.

The mildew smell now had vanished, but it was replaced by a thick scent, or rather, a thick feel, of dust. Ike could practically breathe it in the air, and he bet if he reached out, his fingers would be coated in the grey stuff.

Suddenly, Link halted in front of him, almost causing himself to be trampled. Ike slammed on the brakes just in time to avoid collision. The Hylian just stood there for a moment. Not moving, not speaking.

Ike scowled as he waited for his friend to show some sign of life. The room was dry and stale, with a very uncomfortable atmosphere heavy of dust and dried wood. It almost caused him to sneeze.

After what felt like forever, he heard a faint noise. The mercenary glanced up as Link held the now-opened bottle in front of him. His fingers dipped inside momentarily, grasping the little ball of light.

It reminded Ike of a dead insect. Something you didn't really want to touch but had to. Although, Link treated it differently. Instead of pinching it by the wing to touch as little of the thing as possible, he scooped it up in his palm and gently pulled it from the bottle.

As soon as the thing was free, Link set down the bottle and held the ball in both hands. He raised it up a bit, shocking Ike at its similarities to that of a lantern, and what it revealed shocked Ike even more.

A set of armor, very similar to Marth's, save for the designs and the fact it appeared a bit heavier, hung on the wall, almost ceremoniously, yet hidden so deeply, it made Ike question it even more. The dull light washed out the royal blue color, making the sharp gold insignia more pronounced. Ike hadn't noticed it before, perhaps because of the dim lighting, but a few burn marks had made their scars around the metal edges, chipping off a bit of paint here and there.

However, that's not what caught his attention. There was a huge gash across the breastplate, almost exactly where the heart would be if someone were wearing this. It was deep, too, almost as if someone had actually intended to kill.

Ike glanced over at Link. No normal weapon could do this, and judging by the angle of the cut, it had been a sword of some type. The only other option would be that another factor came into play. Gravity, a trap, a smash ball, something. Some unknown force ten times the strength of an average human.

Ike couldn't take his eyes off of the display. Beside him, he figured Link felt the same. He assumed whoever once owned this had been in a previous tournament before he arrived. He also assumed that this person wouldn't be needing the armor anymore, not that it helped in the first place.

Deciding to break the silence, and knowing full well the Hylian wouldn't do it, Ike asked, "what happened?"

It was a moment before Link spoke. And when he did, his voice was so quiet Ike wasn't sure if it was only in his head or not.

"He was killed..."

Ike figured that much. But weren't the tournaments just for fun? Nobody really got hurt, they were always stopped before injuries could get too bad. Unless there was a malfunction or... something.

The mercenary contemplated his next question. With a hard swallow, he asked, "by who?"

He knew it was serious when Link wouldn't look at him. Instead, the Hylian placed the little ball of light back in the jar and proceeded to head back down the hallway. However, Ike stood in front of him blocking the way.

He knew Link didn't like conflict. Sure, he was one hell of a fighter in the arena or when provoked. But there were no stories told of him starting a fight. Ike fell back on that belief, hoping it would be the thing to save him in that situation.

In close quarters such as this, Link had the advantage. Being smaller and faster, he'd destroy Ike, hands down. That's why Ike hoped he would stick true to his beliefs.

And he did. The Hylian simply stood in the hallway, his face neutral, his stance calm. He would wait it out if he had to. Unfortunately, Ike didn't have that patience.

"Just tell me, Link."

A pair of blue eyes met his own. They were calm, as if to match his personality. But Ike knew that was just a shield to cover the real feeling. He could sense things better than he let on, and even he knew Link was hiding something.

If he wouldn't say it, then he would show it. And the one emotion reflected back to the mercenary confused him.

Fear.

Link wasn't afraid of anything. But whatever this was, whatever he was thinking, it had him scared. And then, a thought came to Ike.

"Link, it wasn't..."

The facade began to crumble.

"You... You're not the one..."

And down came the floodgates.

"Who killed him..."

The Hylian's face betrayed him, for a fraction of a second, before he regained control and shook his head rapidly. Ike didn't believe him. Not for a second. Suddenly, he didn't feel safe being in a dark chamber with Link. If he dropped that ball of light, Ike could say goodbye to his vision. And his life.

But, he knew his friend wasn't a murderer. So that meant something else had to happen.

"I know you didn't do it," Ike finally spoke. "You wouldn't intentionally kill someone. And that looked like murder to me."

In the darkness, the Hylian scowled. So rare an expression for him that Ike let down his guard long enough for Link to slip past.

"You don't know anything," he spat, surprising Ike by the intensity of his voice. And then, back in that cross between sad and hopeless, he added, "Its more complicated than that."

So Link was no longer a suspect. Well, maybe still a little. But if he didn't want to talk about it, then Ike needed to know, "why did you show me, then?"

Link shut his eyes briefly, as if dealing with some inner conflict. "I know what it's like to lose a friend."

So whoever this guy was had been friends with Link and someone killed him. Link still wouldn't say who, and Ike still didn't even know who this mystery guy was. But he would find out. He'd be back.

"Just, don't go asking around," Link continued. "Bad things will happen..."

But he didn't have to finish that sentence. Ike knew what happened to people who knew too much. They ended up like that hollow shell of broken armor hanging on the wall.

 **Feel free to leave me reviews on what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alright I'm back, and the suspense continues! Now, we take a look at some of the other characters and what they are doing around the mansion. This chapter is a bit less morbid than the first one.**

 **Oh, and the new people will begin to arrive...**

 **In the chapter after this.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own this game or the characters.**

Chapter 2: Maintenance

It wasn't really the music that had bothered her. Nor was it a station she disliked. It was more the fact that she needed to take out her anger on something, and that something had just happened to be the only radio in the garage.

Something had malfunctioned in the suit, causing it to radiate tremendous amounts of heat. And, since Samus didn't feel quite like walking around in a portable tanning bed, she shed the armor and deactivated it for inspection. Just her luck, too, she couldn't find the source of the problem.

She stretched out her arm, palm up. "Socket wrench."

"What kind of sock..?"

And her assistant was useless.

The blonde rolled her eyes and reached for the tool herself. "Damn all these medieval people... Don't know a wrench from a rock," she muttered.

"Hey!" Came the reply from her friend. "I may come from a different time from you, but I know when I'm being insulted."

Samus sighed. "Sorry, Lyn. It's just this is really irritating me."

The plainswoman sympathized with her friend. "Maybe you should take a break from it, then." Her gaze went back up to the radio resting on the shelf, sporting a great dent and multiple pieces laying scattered around it. She didn't know the mechanics of it, but liked the idea of playing instruments and telling a story along with it. In a way, it reminded her of her tribe when she was younger. But that was a time long ago. A time she could never return to.

A loud clang echoed from the other side of the garage, snapping Lyn from her thoughts. A string of uncensored cusswords soon followed.

Samus chose to ignore the fuming bird, while Lyn glanced over in his direction, wondering what all of the commotion was. It appeared that today just had to be the day for all of their technology to fail.

The garage was spacious, with enough room to house all of the ships and other vehicles used by the fighters. Hard cement floor stretched out for a good half a mile, and there always was the sound of something running in the background, like an engine, a fan, or someone's mouth. The heat generated from powered machines wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was bearable, forcing Samus to dress light, which usually included a simple t-shirt and jean shorts. However, this would also attract the attention of idiot males who lived here, and she would rather do without that annoyance.

The walls were lined with various shelves piled high with tools and spare parts. Almost as if it had been intentionally designed that way...

That had been something occupying the bounty hunter's mind lately. It couldn't be just a coincidence that everything seemed to fit so perfectly and comfortably. The beds always left enough space beside the wall for a nightstand, and the closet always had enough hangers for clothes. Clothes that seemingly appeared from nowhere.

The refrigerator always had what people liked. Coincidence? Samus knew better. She came from a place where coincidence didn't exist. Only cunning and observation. And traps. Whoever was behind all of this was very smart. And, if they were the same person who messed with her suit, well, they'd be receiving a boot without hesitation.

Samus brushed aside her thoughts when a shuffling behind her broke the steady silence of the garage. She glanced up in the direction of the sound, pleased to see that Pikachu had woken from his nap, eyes half open and fur standing up. She almost smiled, but remembered others were around and she had a reputation to keep.

The yellow mouse slept in a makeshift bed, which turned out to be a cardboard box with a few blankets to keep warm and cozy. Some kid used to come around and throw plastic balls at Pikachu, until Samus threatened him and he finally decided to leave, which in her eyes meant the pokemon was now hers.

Pikachu promptly yawned, uncurling its lightning bolt of a tail. A small, jade collar rested around its neck.

Beside her, Lyn pointed. "You bought it a collar?" Her long, sea green hair fell over her shoulder as she leaned forward on her seat, which was actually just a crate.

The question made Samus remember, which made her frown. "No. Not exactly." The collar actually came from the smaller mouse, the one named Pichu. Ever since the little electric mouse had been found outside after the storm, its body small and limp, its fur matted and drenching wet, Pikachu became depressed.

Some of the others were as well. Mostly Peach, who had a soft spot for anything small and cute. Since nobody else had the heart, Samus chose to bury the body, taking the small collar as a remembrance. She planned to hang it up somewhere, but Pikachu kept trying to get it, so she finally let him have it. In return, the pokemon hung around her, which, despite her initial reaction, she didn't mind. In fact, it was usually the most intelligent thing she came in contact with on a daily basis.

Speaking of intelligence, Fox was due back any time now. Of course, they couldn't discuss matters aside from formalities with others around, but she was pretty good at deciphering code words. Besides, chances were high that he came back empty-handed anyway. Or not at all.

"Samus?"

The blonde kept her eyes on her power suit as she acknowledged her friend. "Yeah?" She spun the wrench around in her hand absentmindedly, already feeling like giving up with the stubborn suit for now.

"How long have you been here?"

The question caught her off guard, but the space bounty hunter quickly regained her composure. Always with the questions. Too curious for her own good. However, Samus did have to admit that for someone from a primitive world, Lyn was rather intuitive.

Samus fell back on what she knew. "Why do you ask?" Always answer a question with another question. That's how you got information from someone, while simultaneously taking the spotlight off of yourself.

The plainswoman fell for the bait. "Er, well, because I figured you've been here a long time. Have you ever seen this Master Hand?"

So that's why she was asking... Samus flipped the wrench back around, fully prepared to continue her unproductive work, when she was suddenly interrupted by a certain yellow mouse. Pikachu insisted on climbing into her lap, calling out, "Pika," and nuzzling her leg.

She had no other choice but to drop the tool and pet the fuzzy mouse, settling back into a cross-legged position on the mat. After a moment of being completely absorbed in her new pet, she glanced up to see the other woman watching her. Slight embarrassment crept up, until she remembered that there hung an unanswered question in the air.

"No," she simply said. The less words, the better. Left no room for unwanted explanations.

Thinking back on it, she had been here awhile. Ever since the beginning of this. The first tournament with only eight others. And in that entire time, she had never once seen anyone who identified themselves as Master Hand. The only time she ever saw anyone aside from the contestants were the wire frames, and they couldn't really classify as humans. They were eerie in their own way, with their translucent bodies and humanoid shapes. Over the years-had it really been years?-they had evolved slightly, along with the mansion, but the changes almost seemed as if they happened overnight. Just how everything else did.

"Oh." Lyn's voice had a slight hint of disappointment. But sad feelings didn't last long with her! "Well, I wonder who he is. I mean, someone who makes a place like this-"

"-Or her."

Lyn blinked, unsure why she had been so suddenly cut off, her brows scrunched together and mouth slightly open. She looked to Samus for an answer.

"Don't assume that it's a man." She hadn't really known why she blurted that out. Just, attempting to narrow down on something that had no definites to it seemed like cutting it close, in the way someone might lack in their defense and lose the first layer of skin to the tip of a blade. Besides, women were capable of evil. Well, if this was considered evil. Samus hadn't quite decided what she wanted to call it yet. Anything but normal, that's for sure.

For a brief moment, she wondered if this Master Hand person may actually be a series of technology, like a supercomputer or some kind of artificial intelligence. Maybe it wasn't even a real person at all. Maybe it was like some kind of floating entity, like an alien or an amoeba or something that these wire frames worshipped.

Of all the theories, she liked the supercomputer one. It did make a lot of sense, and covered for a few of the mishaps, such as malfunctioning stages or random spurts of blackouts, the latter becoming more and more recent. To add more to her theory, machines got old after time. This thing must've been around for awhile, with shoddy maintenance repairs from single-celled blobs of jelly. If things continued to mess up, she decided that she might just have to find the source for this thing and check it out for herself.

Although, considering what usually happened to people like that, she couldn't imagine she'd get far without a plan. Or a team. Samus Aran needed to admit that she couldn't unravel this mystery alone. Fox was trustworthy, but...

Fox! He should've been back by now! He better not have gotten himself killed, she growled in her mind.

"Samus? Hello?"

The bounty hunter woke from her trance to find Lyn waving a hand in her face. The plainswoman appeared slightly amused, rather than worried, as if things like this happened all the time. That was one of the reasons she liked Lyn. The woman wasn't so full of worry like some of the others here.

"You just kind of zoned our for a minute there."

Samus blinked a few more times, realizing there was another figure standing beside Lyn. The face of a child but wings of an angel...

"What's the kid doing here?"

Upon being acknowledged, Pit grinned, seemingly ignoring being called a kid. "Peach sent me to tell you dinner is done!" He announced cheerfully.

From the other side of the garage came some more clanging. "Dinner?" Falco shouted, sounding relieved to have an excuse to leave his project. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Samus eyed the pilot as he made his way over. His clothes were slightly torn and wrinkled, and he walked with a bit of a swagger. Not so much as to think he's better than everyone, but enough to demand attention, if only slight. "What were you even doing over there anyway?" She asked.

Falco gave her a look. "I was trying to find the right pistons for the carburetor."

"Carburetor?"

"Yes," he replied, almost annoyed. "Arwings have carburetors. Damn woman, you act like you're from the 20th century or something."

Samus crossed her arms at the insult. "Listen here, bird. One more like that and you'll be tomorrow's dinner."

He squawked his protest, then let out a laugh. Things never really got heated in the garage. If they did, people just left to cool off. It was really a chill place, even if unexplained malfunctions appeared to rule the day.

Before he could leave, Samus rose to her feet. "You gonna take care of that mess you left over there?" Over by his Arwing lay a scattered menagerie of bits and pieces, mostly metal, but a few plastic and other unknown alloys. To her, it looked like a toolbox toppled over and a tornado carried the debris halfway across the floor.

With a glance over his shoulder to survey, the pilot gave a noncommittal shrug, saying, "nah, I'll come back to it after I eat."

Samus watched him head off for a moment, before turning to the others. Pit was looking up at her expectantly while Lyn adopted a look of slight confusion.

Pit. That kid was too carefree. Either he was too naive to notice the things that went on here, or he simply attempted to ignore them. Either way, Samus knew he'd end up making himself a target some way or another, and she hoped that he always had someone with him. True, he knew how to handle himself in the arena, but oftentimes, he never knew when someone crossed the line and the weapons needed drawn. Plus he was so trusting he would actually believe Ganondorf and his web of lies. That man always tried to convince the newcomers to get into all kinds of trouble, then feigned ignorance when the time of judgement arrived.

"You guys go ahead," the blonde bounty hunter told them.

Lyn frowned. "You're not eating?"

"I am, but I've got to clean up this mess. I'll catch up later."

For a moment, Samus thought Lyn might linger for a bit and help, but after a few seconds of uncertainty, she finally said, "alright," and headed off with the angel in tow.

"Bye, Samus!" He called with a wave.

As soon as they were gone, she let out a sigh of relief. Now, she could wait around for Fox without suspicion. Assuming, of course, that the idiot hadn't went off and died or crashed and stranded himself outside the safe borders of the mansion.

The safe borders weren't to keep people out, but rather, to keep them in.

Samus began to tidy up a bit, even going so far as to shove aside her power suit so that it wouldn't get in the way of anything. On the far side of the garage sat the F-Zero, looking small in comparison to the many planes and ships docked in the garage. Well, it was more like a hanger than a garage, but Samus preferred the term garage. Made it sound more... functional.

Being in such an open space alone made her tense up and be on the lookout. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Someone was watching her.

Samus spun to face the door, only to find the doorway empty. She narrowed her eyebrows, slinking along the wall and peering around the corner, just to make sure no one had been sneaking around.

The hall was empty as well.

"Huh. Weird." She brushed her bangs out of her eyes and turned back around-

"Pika!"

"Gah!" Samus leaped back, hands flailing out towards the wall, clutching the brace for balance. In the process, her arm met with a protruding nail, causing her to yank back the injured appendage and inspect it.

Already, a line of blood had formed at the cut, with a small sphere at one end. It wasn't a deep cut, not by any means, just an inconvenient one.

"Chu?" The pokemon asked, looking up with big eyes.

"No, its not your fault," she assured, wiping the blood off on her shirt before lifting up the small mouse. She rubbed behind his ears as he nuzzled his head into her neck.

She felt her adrenaline fading, her heartbeat returning back to its original pace. It was only Pikachu... But for some reason, the feeling lingered, even if weaker than it previously had been. Her survival instincts never failed, so why should now be any different just because it's a civilian setting?

Samus silenced her moments, hushed her breathing. Without moving her body, her eyes darted about, checking the surroundings. No eerie shadows in the corner, nothing out of place behind the vehicles...

She spun in a 180 effortlessly and scanned the other half of the building. Nothing odd jutting out from the shelves. Hmm...

A sound in the distance caused her to perk up. Her hand instinctively fell to her hip in search of her weapon, but found only astonishment at the fact it wasn't there. _It's okay_ , she told herself. Samus Aran can fight with fists.

But wait, this sound... It was a mechanical buzz. Getting louder and louder...

Fox! Samus dashed for the remote to open the door. She wasn't sure how close he was to landing, or crashing in this case, but she would not be the cause. With a flying leap to save time, she catapulted through the air, arm parallel to the floor, fingers stretched out, reaching, reaching, the little red button just inches away-

Vroom.

Samus collapsed onto the floor, crushing her elbow against the cold cement, reopening her previous wound. "Dammit," she cursed, as Pikachu arrived beside her to check if his owner was alright.

After recovering from the fall, she scooped him up quickly and headed for the wall, where she would be out of the landing way, but close enough to rush over to Fox as soon as he exited his Arwing.

Soon enough, the building filled with the sound of a jet engine, and in came that unmistakeable plane with the fins on the side and boosters on the back. Samus watched with intensity as the plane slowly rolled through the hangar door and slid to a stop before reaching the far wall. Her eyes scanned the vehicle in search of any damage.

Nothing stood out right off the bat. No nicks, no burns, no missing pieces. However, as she was unfamiliar with the structure of an Arwing, she couldn't be too sure nothing had happened.

Once the capsule atop the plane opened up, the bounty hunter dashed over at sight of the pilot climbing out of the cockpit. Her body shook with anticipation, but she stood her ground like a platoon leader ready to send their troops into battle. It was a little harder to do with Pikachu clinging to her, but she managed to pull it off nonetheless.

He didn't appear to be missing any limbs. But he made his way to the ground ever so slowly, the sheer act driving her nuts. Did he take forever to do everything?

Apparently, he hadn't spotted her yet. For being a pilot, he wasn't that observant. Or maybe it was just that he was too wrapped up in what he found that he didn't pay attention to anything else. Samus couldn't tell if that meant good news or bad.

Once he finally looked up, he noticed the woman watching him intently, her stern expression not allowing for the slightest hint as to what her thoughts may have been.

Fox grinned. "Well, hey there, Samus."

For a moment, she simply stood there in shock, too many things going through her mind to really think of what to say. Especially with how casually he he greeted her. She finally decided to spurt out the first thing that came. "I thought you went and got killed, you moron!"

He grinned. "So you were worried about me?"

"No." Samus shifted the pokemon in her arms. "Not a chance. I was concerned that you compromised the mission and I would have to convince someone else to do your job."

"Heh. Well, I almost didn't make it."

For some reason, that didn't shock her. Not that she didn't have confidence in the pilot, because he was good at what he did, but she knew that something out there was keeping them in. Otherwise, people would have escaped long ago.

The suspense was killing her. "Well? What did you find?"

Fox scratched his ear, glancing around. "You sure we should be talking in here?"

"Yeah. Everyone left. So talk."

The pilot began to take off his jacket, hanging it on a stand nearby his plane. "You're not going to like my answer."

She frowned. That sounded like bad news. "Okay? So then what did you find?"

He sighed. "It's just as you thought. Maybe even worse. Whoever's got us boxed in here has got us trapped like a fish out of water." He rolled his sleeves up as he began to prepare running tests on the Arwing to make sure all of the systems were still working properly.

"You said you almost didn't come back," she pressed. "Tell me about that."

Fox let out a huff. Whether from exhaustion or amusement, she couldn't be sure. "There's a huge electromagnetic force above the forest. I almost got sucked in but thanks to that overdrive, I managed to get away in time. Oh! Speaking of that, I can go get it back for you."

"Yeah. Falcon might miss it."

Fox paled. "You took it from Captain Falcon?"

Samus shrugged as if to say it was no big deal. "I borrowed it. It's not like he even noticed, anyway. So, what else?"

Fox returned to his story as if nothing had interrupted it in the first place. "To the south, there's this immense fog! I couldn't see anything so I had to turn back. Although, if that's the way to go, I would say go for it. You're blind, but aside from that, I feel there isn't much danger."

Samus tapped her chin. Maybe there was some way to clear out the fog, or to see through it. She wasn't quite sure. Whoever this Master Hand was, they were pretty intent on keeping people here. And finding new people from who knows where. It was only a matter of weeks until the next tournament. Something bad always happened during the tournaments. The minor stuff occurred in between.

But, there still could be something in that fog. She didn't like her chances. The forest stretched out both to the north and the west of the mansion, while the fog occupied the south. That only left one more place. With their current chances, she almost didn't want to ask."And to the east?"

Fox shook his head. "Wierd. I tried to fly out that way, but it was as if I wasn't even moving. The mansion was still behind me, the same distance away it was, and I had been flying for a good twenty minutes."

Hmm. She'd never heard anything like it before. Something like this would require extensive research, perhaps even her own take in the field as well.

"Even stranger, still, was that my radar completely blanked and the speed and pressure dials froze in one spot. They're fine now, but when I was flying over, they just went completely bonkers."

Figures. Nature wouldn't do something like that. An unknown entity, a creature of extreme power and wisdom had them locked in here. Like a place long forgotten in the history books, so too, their names shall never leave these halls.

She couldn't even imagine what was going on in her own home world.

"Our chances are looking pretty slim."

Fox gave her a look of intense concentration. Could this mean that they were forever doomed to spend an eternity in an old, isolated mansion where they fought one another each year and nothing of interest happened besides that, while each of their respective homes possibly declined due to the responsibilities each of the contestants were once bound to, and now never being completed?

Fox didn't want to think like that. He wanted to believe that one day, he would see Skippy and Peppy again. That he and Falco would return home with heads held high.

But wait. There was a missing piece of the puzzle. A forgotten algorithm in the lengthy equation.

Fox knew he risked opening a can of worms with this one, but it may have been his only option. "What about that mercenary guy?" He asked. "The one you couldn't stand?"

At this, her expression grew darker, even if she herself were not aware of this. The Smashers had known for a time that the two were an incredible duo of intelligence and perception, even for a time making up a part-time detective agency. However, within the time frame of the Brawl tournament, something changed. And then a few weeks later, he was nowhere to be found.

In all honesty, Samus really didn't have the answer. He was gone, she knew that much. But around here, gone could mean that your body just hadn't shown up yet. Although, she had a slight feeling that wasn't the case this time.

"We'll meet again tomorrow," she told the avian pilot, which was her way of ending the conversation. Besides, she planned on getting some of that much-needed food in her system. She knew how Peach would get upset whenever someone showed up late to dinner while she was cleaning up. "Until then, stay on the ground."

Fox grinned. "Yeah. Same to you."

 **So this may not be of the best quality, but hey, its 4 in the morning on the day after Christmas. I'm not making excuses, I'm just saying that I know it's crappy. Next one will be better.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I realize it has been 2 years. But, I'm back in the game and ready to write! Here's chapter three! This one's a bit light-hearted, but does have its fair share of secrets. As for Samus and Fox's theory, well, there's more on that later.**

 **Please, if you haven't already, I suggest reading the story from the beginning. It may make a little more sense that way**.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own this game or the characters.**

Chapter 3: Visitor from Another Realm

Hazy blue eyes watched as the tiny particles floated towards the surface and danced with one another throughout the murky liquid. It was quite fascinating for one who came from a darker age and had never seen anything like this before. Well, at least it would've been, if that person hadn't been lost in thought.

Absentmindedly, he took a sip, and was met with a gritty aftertaste and a weird feeling in his mouth. The overwhelming amount of sugar stung his teeth, making him immediately wish he had grabbed a cup of water to accompany. "How can you drink this stuff, kid?"

Ness just shrugged. "It's good. How can't you?"

Ike didn't even know how to respond to that. He watched Ness swirl his drink around in the glass with a straw, before adjusting his baseball cap and taking another powerful sip. The kid appeared nonchalant, but his eyes were dull, as if there were something that had been bothering him. Ike figured the kid didn't want to talk about it, so he wasn't going to pressure him.

The mercenary's eyes skipped around, searching for something to kill his boredom. Across the room at the round table near the corner sat Link. Not once had he looked in this direction. Well, not once that Ike noticed. The Hylian was ten times as subtle as the straightforward Ike, and he was also more perceptive.

Beside him sat Zelda, of course, along with Peach and Mario. The plumber looked absolutely drained, while Peach held an almost sympathetic look, as if she were attempting to console someone who had lost all hope long ago. Ike couldn't tell which of the four that might be, but none of them looked really enthused either way.

Yoshi trotted back and forth between tables, searching for scraps to steal, while Sonic and Captain Falcon argued in a corner over who would win in a race.

Ike spotted a few assist trophies standing around the soda machine, but he couldn't recognize all of them, being fairly new to the mansion and, according to others, slightly dense. Upon normal circumstances, the assist trophies would be sealed in the attic, most notably around the beginning of the tournament, so they could be summoned on call, but during social events and between tournaments, they wandered freely.

Behind Ike came a high pitched voice. "Hello, Ike! Care if I join you?"

He glanced up to see Daisy standing there with a tray of food and a mile wide smile. "Uh, sure." He'd dropped all formalities after Daisy insisted that he call her by name, because, as she had said, "we are friends after all!" and so Ike just went with it, if not completely understanding her logic. Why a princess would even want to be near him, he had no idea. He was still a bit shaken up by what he saw earlier that day. That room... who all knew about it?

Something really was going on here. And he apparently hadn't noticed it until the end of the Brawl tournament.

While Daisy babbled on about something unimportant and cooed over the young kids, Ike wondered something. Why was there a tournament in the middle of nowhere? And if this place really was the middle of nowhere, where did all of the fans come from? People always watched the fights from the stands, but when he was down there he could never make out any faces. The people just seemed to be there, not really doing anything or being anyone in specific. Just a mesh of bodies crammed together for the sole purpose of watching the fight. Almost as if it were staged to look that way-

Obnoxious giggling finally caught his attention. When he glanced up, he saw Ness and Toon Link practically crying from their laughing fit. Beside him, Daisy was attempting to hold it in as well.

With narrowed eyebrows, he asked, "what's so funny?"

This produced another blast of laughter from the kids, which caused Ness to fall off his seat onto the floor. Toon Link lost it after that, making incoherent noises and pounding the table repeatedly with his fist, while his other hand clutched his heart as if it might suddenly stop working.

With a raised eyebrow, Ike turned to Daisy, who looked more concerned for the well-being of the children than anything else.

After awhile, Ness finally got off the floor, his face red from laughing so hard. He clutched his sides as if they physically hurt, which they may have, judging by how he fell onto the hard floor and all. Toon Link took off his hat and used it to fan himself, suffering from the same symptoms as Ness.

Beside him, Ike heard Daisy's voice. "Boys, are you alright?"

Expecting them to burst out laughing again, Ike was almost surprised to see them nodding their heads in unison. "Alright," she added. Turning to Ike, she finally explained that the two kids had snatched a piece of his chicken while he was deep in thought.

The mercenary glanced back down to his plate, noticing that they had, indeed, taken one piece of his chicken from him. But he was too lost in another place to really care.

He lazily finished the rest of his meal, and, deciding to skip out on the Coke, headed for his room.

Nothing eventful happened for the rest of the day, until Red decided to go outside the mansion at night.

The kid wasn't superstitious by any means, nor was he afraid of the dark. He wasn't running out on a dare, either. Somehow, his Charizard had gotten loose from the Pokeball and he had been following the little flame on its tail and calling for his beloved pet, but with no avail.

"Come here, Charizard!" He whispered firmly, hoping the dinosaur would listen to him this time and go back inside where it was nice and warm and not as creepy.

He suddenly became aware of a shiver creeping down his spine, feeling uncomfortable out here. "Charizard!" He called again. "Come here!"

The pokemon remained where it was, in a small patch of grass underneath a nearby oak tree. Red rolled his eyes and decided to humor the pokemon, who was now making some kind of noise at its discovery.

Red got a swift whiff of pine, nothing unusual there, but for some reason, it made his hairs stand on end. The boy pulled his hat down a little tighter and trudged through the grass to Charizard, grumbling the entire way. The pokemon should know better by now...

A hand reached out for the pokemon but stopped. His eyes scanned something on the ground. That...

It wasn't...

His eyes widened. _Holy crap! T-there's a person_! he shouted in his mind. And it was enough to send him fleeing into the mansion, leaving Charizard to fend for itself against the strange person sleeping in the grass.

Red flew through the doors like a ghost was hot on his heels, ratty old tennis shoes thudding rhythmically against the tile in the main lobby. He didn't stop until reaching the far hall, when his body told him he'd extended his energy too much, and the kid found himself panting for air and sliding halfway down the brick wall, heart pounding against his chest, his ribcage constricting until it was painful.

"Ughhh..." He groaned in pain. Glancing up, he nearly fell over in surprise as a nearby door swung open.

Two figures came out of the doorway, coming to a halt once they spotting the heaving kid.

"Red! Are you alright?"

Luckily for him, if he had needed medical attention, he was right outside the infirmary, with two of the "official" nurses headed his way.

He tried to catch his breath and form coherent speech, but succeeded in only falling to the floor and clutching his chest while sputtering.

"Oh dear," Daisy commented, putting a hand to her mouth.

Beside her, Peach moved to inspect Red further, to see if he was possessed or just playing some game that the kids did nowadays. The two princesses were still dressed in scrubs from their previous shift in the infirmary.

"Red?" The blonde pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, to gauge whether he had a fever or not. "You're burning up..."

Red shoved her hand away. "T-theres-" again, speech failed him, and he came up with the solution of just pointing towards the still opened front doors of the mansion.

They both followed his arm and saw the front doors of the mansion wide open, wind whipping through the doorway with an eerie whistling noise.

The two princesses exchanged confused glances. "Red, what did you see out there?" Peach asked, slightly nervous. She was almost certain that there wasn't anything to fear out there, but for a kid to come running in like that, it must've been something frightening. Or, at least, something out of the unusual.

For a brief moment, Peach pondered the thought of calling for Samus, but quickly declined it. The woman must've went to bed by now, and definitely wouldn't appreciate being woken up for nonsense.

Red wheezed again, his breath slowly returning to his body. "Outside…" he croaked with a ragged breath. "There's a girl outside!"

The two princesses exchanged confused glances again, having a non-verbal conversation between them. Solution found, Peach knelt down in front of the still traumatized but quickly recovering boy, asking if he would be okay.

Red nodded, his breathing becoming more rhythmic and less erratic. "Yeah, just-just a little startled…"

"Where was this girl at?" Peach asked in a way one might speak to a small child. Comforting, yet serious.

"There was a tree, Charizard found her… she's laying right by the tree."

"Alright, you just wait right here," Peach said to him. "Daisy and I will go check it out." Blue eyes locked, as if in confirmation, before the two decided to head out.

The girls left him there, heading for the mansion's entrance. It was fairly uncommon for anyone to be outside at this time of night, even the late-night training sessions ended long before this, especially with the addition of a downstairs gym at the end of the Melee tournament.

The two princesses took brisk but cautious steps, their tennis shoes squishing into the slightly damp grass. Anyone who would be laying out here must be cold, Peach thought to herself.

The nurse scrubs suddenly felt very light and vulnerable. An unsettling feeling swept across the two. It wasn't unheard of for newcomers to appear in the most strange and random ways, but the tournament had just finished about a week and a half ago. It was still early for anyone to show up.

"There!" Daisy pointed with a hushed whisper. "There is Charizard."

"Hmm." Peach crossed over to the pokemon, who, upon closer inspection, was sitting beside a figure lying in the grass.

Peach barely held back the gasp. This girl…

"Daisy," she motioned with her hand, barely able to say more out of shock.

The brunet followed, her eyes glancing over the sleeping figure sunk into the grass. She froze, eyes wide. "Who..?"

"Let's get her inside, quick!" Peach ushered. The resemblance was so uncanny that it couldn't possibly be coincidence. She'd need to contact Mario about this discovery in the morning, but for now, their main concern was with getting the girl inside and out of the cold. Who knew what kind of condition she might be in.

The two were quick to lift the girl off of the ground. At this time of night, a majority of the residents had already retired to their rooms, so there wouldn't really be anyone else to help. Besides, Peach thought, as she and Daisy reached around to lift the unconscious girl and carry her, this girl was fairly light.

As the princesses headed for the building with the new girl, a pair of cold eyes watched the scene unfold from a window on the second floor. The curtain fell back almost instantly, and with it, the night faded into a close.

 **Well, the plot thickens! I bet everyone already knows who the girl is, though!**


End file.
